Lives of Black, Female Public Figures May Be at Risk

San Francisco, Calif.- April, 25, 2017- Florida’s first African American state attorney, Aramis Ayala, recently received a makeshift noose and other racist messages in her mailbox after refusing to seek the death penalty in capital murder cases. Ayala, who works in Orange-Osceola county, began receiving hate mail when Governor Rick Scott reassigned 23 of her murder cases. She has now sued him in response- claiming that he cannot remove her from the cases.

    According to the county’s sheriff’s officials, Attorney Aramis Ayala received her first hate letter on March 20 at her office. The clerk also noticed that the racist letter was addressed to her  in messy handwriting on an envelope when she picked up the mail. Then she got a postcard in the mail about a week later that had green twine in the shape of a noose taped to it. However, this story didn’t make national news until last Friday.

The Orlando Sentinel stated that both pieces of mail appeared to be from the same person and the State Attorney’s Office clerk saw both of them. The Daily Mail also reports that authorities are currently investigating the incident targeted towards Ayala.  

Ayala said she “believes the hangman’s noose was meant as a threat to her as a public official,” according to an incident report. Florida deputies are now investigating and teamed up with the U.S. Postal Service to try to uncover where the letters came from. Ayala also said she thinks the incidents are a hate crime.

Ayala would be absolutely correct. The letters that have been sent to her definitely count as hate crimes, particularly the one with a noose attached. Her incident comes less than 2 weeks after Sheila Abdus-Salaam was found dead by the Hudson River in New York, who was the first African American woman to serve on New York’s Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state.

Sheila’s case was odd because no one reported that she was missing. Also, her home was in Harlem but her body was found floating in Upper Manhattan according to The New York Times. NYPD initially ruled her death as a suicide, despite her family saying that she was a happy person and couldn’t think of any reason why she would commit suicide. It may or may not be a coincidence that these two women have been targeted within less than a month of each other, however, it is very strange they both were the first African American women ever to hold their position, and they both have been mysteriously targeted.

Even though both cases took place in different parts of the country, the authorities should really see if there are any connections with the cases. Aramis Ayala became a controversial figure in Florida last month when she decided not to seek the death penalty in any of her cases, including with defendant Markeith Loyd who killed a cop and allegedly his pregnant girlfriend. When Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a judge, she often sided with disenfranchised groups in cases, which included the poor, impoverished immigrants and people with mental illnesses rather than more powerful, established individuals.

Any individual with a lot of anger towards Ayala or Abdus-Salaam, or the policies or philosophies they endorse, could easily find them since they are public figures. Both women can be considered controversial leaders in their communities. Both are breaking gender and ethnic barriers with the positions that they hold (held) as well. It’s not uncommon for people of color, in this case African Americans, to be assaulted or killed by someone and their case is never solved. This dates with back to the unsolved murders of Medgar Evers in 1963 and James Earl Chaney in 1964 who both advocated for civil rights.

Hopefully the perpetrators who sent State Attorney Ayala a noose gets found and a charged with a hate crime, and Sheila Abdus-Salaam’s mystery surrounding her death is solved so her family can have closure. The authorities should also encourage local public figures like judges, attorneys and politicians, to be cautious when they leave their homes and possibly seek out extra security for themselves.

Fortunately for Ayala, she does have the support of many groups, including anti-death penalty advocates and members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus. In Florida, where capital punishment is legal and supported by lots of people down there, any support for her stance is probably greatly appreciated by her.

Hopefully, the state attorney received the last of her hate mail. And these recent tragedies are not a chain of unfortunate events targeted specifically for African American women who are leaders in their communities.

Ten Teens Have Went Missing In D.C.

March 23, 2017- Almost a dozen Black and Latinx teens have been missing in the Washington, D.C. area, but the media coverage for this epidemic has been very minimal. All the teens are women except one. This story first surfaced on social media early two weeks ago, but hasn’t gained much attention outside of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The only other outlets that have mentioned their disappearance have been select websites including the Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, and The Root.

Washington D.C. police department’s twitter account has also issued a series of tweets covering the disappearance of these teens. However, these tweets weren’t very helpful or insightful. According to citizens in the D.C. area, local news stations on television and radio as well as newspaper, have somewhat covered this tragedy but not to the extent that it should be. Despite the lack of coverage by major television and print media outlets, people on social media have taken the initiative to educate others about the sudden disappearance of black and brown people near our nation’s capital

Twitter user @BlackGirlMarvel was one of the catalysts in spreading the news of the missing Black and Brown children via social media. When @BlackGirlMarvel tweeted on March 12th that eight black girls had been missing, her posts accumulated over 35,000 retweets in 12 hours. She wrote, “It takes 3.2 seconds to retweet and help find these 8 BLACK GIRLS reported missing in Washington D.C. during the past 3 days”.

The age difference ranges between 13 and 16 years old for the individuals who are missing. Fortunately, two teens, Taylor Innis and Antwan Jordan, have been found safe and in good health. Also, this isn’t the first time the city has experienced this. Back in January, the city had a similar issue when there were 15 open cases of missing girls at once. It is believed that sex-trafficking may be the bigger issue that’s plaguing D.C. Sex trafficking is the second fastest growing criminal industry in the country, according to The U.S. Department of Justice, with children making up about half of the victims.

What’s puzzling about this situation is the lack of mainstream coverage. Where is CNN, Fox, MSNBC, ABC and any other major news channels? Without social media, no one would be advocating for these Black and Latinx teens. It raises the idea of how the phenomenon “missing white woman syndrome” comes to play in these instances. This phenomenon, which was coined by PBS reporter Gwen Ifill, is a common term used by some African-American households. It states that the media has a fascination with young, attractive white women who go missing- especially if they’re from an upper or middle class background. Versus women of color or anyone else who doesn’t fit that description. One infamous case was in 2005 when Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba and there was non-stop media coverage of her case.

When ten teenagers are missing within a matter of weeks in a particular city, that should make the front page of newspapers- regardless of their ethnic background or socio-economic class. Now, as this story is spreading through social media, a few celebrities have posted things are their pages to give these women of color a voice. There is still hardly any information about the disappearance of whereabouts of the individuals. People have used the hashtag #bringbackourgirls to bring awareness of what’s going on. Hopefully as this story spreads across social media, it’ll draw the attention of other mainstream media outlets and pressure them to talk about the missing children in D.C.

Colin Kaepernick Struggles To Find A New Team

San Francisco, Calif- March 22, 2017- Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick has opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month, but a NFL team has yet to sign to him. It is speculated that teams are hesitant to offer him a contract due to his stance on racial justice issues in America, which have been highly publicized.

Kaepernick gained a lot of media attention when he first took a knee during the national anthem before games last fall. This stirred up much controversy between fans, politicians and sports commentators alike and before the election, Donald Trump has stated, “I think it's personally not a good thing. I think it's a terrible thing." Previously, those who criticized Kaepernick accused him for not using his “privilege” and money to help communities rather than just taking a knee. However, the quarterback proved his naysayers wrong. After pledging to donate $1 million in charity, he gave money to local organizations in the Bay Area, held a clinic to empower young black men, donated money to support the Standing Rock protests, and donated his enormous shoe collection to charity in less than a year.

According to a Bleacher Report article, one unnamed AFC general manager mentioned “...Some teams fear the backlash from fans after getting him (Colin Kaepernick). They think there might be protests or Trump will tweet about the team.” The manager also added that some teams “genuinely hate him and can’t stand what he did”. It hasn’t been confirmed if by “teams” the anonymous manager is referring to the fans, coaches, or other managers in the NFL. Trump, who is no stranger when it comes to calling out people he doesn’t agree with, has already criticized Kaepernick for not being offered contracts via Twitter, at a Trump rally in Louisville, and to other media outlets.

Despite teams not weighing in on his talents but rather how he addresses social issues, Colin Kaepernick has continued to use his platform and resources to help disenfranchised citizens. This week, he has donated $50,000 to the Meals on Wheels program which may lose funding from the government. And another $50,000 to the Love For Somalia campaign, which will give food and water to Somalis experiencing a historic famine.

What is even more puzzling about Kaepernick’s situation is that he is one of the best offensive players in the NFL. Just looking at his statistics and postseason appearances alone, he is a player who can definitely make a positive impact on any team. It raises the question, can professional athletes have public opinions on politics and social issues without any repercussions? Also, why is him taking a knee months ago being overshadowed by all the positive work he’s currently doing?

It has been confirmed from ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Kaepernick will no longer take a knee during the national anthem. It is believed that he decided to do this in hopes of landing a contract with a new team. Through all the negativity from the public, and apprehension from NFL organizations, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has been a ray of light for the quarterback.  Harbaugh has revealed to the media that he told teams that Colin Kaepernick can still be great and help them win championships if they give him a chance.

ASU President Calls a Group of US-born Alumi International Students

Tempe, Ariz., March 2, 2017- A group of women who are Arizona State University alumni as well as American-born citizens, were called international students by the university’s president in an article released two weeks ago. According to Nshawh Ahmad, the ASU alum who has been the most vocal about this incident and also included in a photo included with the article. She feels that she was profiled by the university. Ahmad stated that her and her two friends were assumed to be international students because her and another woman were wearing head scarves known as hijabs.

    In the article titled “Why We Need International Students”, ASU president Michael Crow wrote: “Inviting foreign students to study in the United States doesn’t just create jobs, it also brings in perspectives that can help the United States solve complex global challenges”. As a response to Trump’s Muslim ban, he also wrote “It’s important to recognize how significant the impact may be on international students studying here and the institutions that both educate and depend on them.”  However, the Arizona State’s president failed at his attempt by categorizing a group of alumni as foreign exchange students just by the way they looked.

    Nshwah mentioned, “It’s offensive because especially in today’s current political climate, it’s one that is trying to erase the Arab and Muslim identity as Americans” regarding the situation. She feels that the dialogue in this country is that people cannot be both Muslim and American. Like how Ahmad has previously stated, with the political climate in this country, this was a big mistake that Arizona State’s president has made that could possibly deter potential international students from studying at the university. “By trying to seem accepting they went ahead and racially profiled us and it came off as more racist than anything,” Ahmad said. Her, the two other women in the photo, and their friends and families felt that the university should have asked permission for their image to published and had done their researched on who was actually in the photo.

    Since Nshwah Ahmad has asked her peers to share her story on social media, it has gained much attention in Arizona’s local communities, and even caught the attention of people in other states and other countries on the internet. Soon after, President Michael Crow has issued a public apology to all three girls. Ahmad has contemplated on taking legal action against the university, but so far there has not been any updates if she has or not. In the end, she feels that someone should be accountable for this and wants to make sure this never happens again to other people.

Photos are courtesy of Ahmad's Instagram page and are being used with permission.

Legal Consequences for Emmett Till's Accuser

Overall, the dialogue of entering the year of 2017 was hopeful and refreshing, as many people felt that 2016 was filled with many tragedies. Not even a month into the new year, an event had unraveled that infuriated many people all over the nation- particularly African Americans. On January 27th, it was revealed that the woman who accused Emmett Till of "whistling" at her, Carolyn Bryant Donham, admitted that she had fabricated her story according to Vanity Fair.
This was a trending topic on Facebook, Twitter, and a story about this was even featured on Snapchat. Her story is what ultimately led up to his murder. He was killed by Donham's husband and his half-brother after Carolyn went home and told her husband that Till was flirting with her. Emmett Till was a 14 year-old African American boy from Chicago who was visiting his family in Mississippi during the summer of 1955. Previously, no one was sure exactly what the teenager allegedly said to Donham, but it was reported that Till was bragging to his cousins about having a white girlfriend back home when he was in the store Carolyn Donham, who was 21 at the time, was working at. However, she lied about him grabbing her and made lewd comments to her. “That part’s not true,” Donham told Timothy Tyson, who spoke to her for a new book, The Blood of Emmett Till. What makes this case even more heinous is that Tyson carried out Donham's interview back in 2007, when she approached him to write her memoirs, but this news wasn't known to the public until a decade later! Tyson also wrote down that Emmett's "whistle" Donham heard may have been intentional because he had a lisp. Carolyn Donham also claims that she isn't able to recall what else happened during their 1-minute encounter, although she states that “Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” Donham said. 


The thing is, Emmett 's death occurred 62 years ago. Donham is now 82 years old. It is very hard for the public to believe that she has had a change of heart over the years. How can any human being live comfortably knowing that they were responsible for the death of a child? This is not a case of manslaughter. Emmett Till was lynched. After Donham and Till's encounter, later on that night, Till was dragged out of his relatives' home by an angry mob led by Doham's husband and his half brother. His body was later found in the Tallahatchie River. He was beaten, shot in the head, one of his eyes was gouged out, and was tied down by a cottin-gin fan with barbed wire. His parents didn't even recognize him when they saw his corpse. When Donham's husband and half brother were on trial for murdering him, she lied under oath defending her spouse and brother-in-law. She committed perjury. If Nazi leaders were able to be convicted of war crimes when they were in their 90's, the United States can convict Carolyn for perjury. She deserves to spend the rest of her life in jail.

In fact, President Barack Obama signed an act last December that can put her behind bars. Ironically, it is called the Emmett Till Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016. It will allow the FBI and the Department of Justice to reopen unsolved civil rights crimes that were committed before 1980. The Emmett Till Act calls for  “the full accounting of all victims whose deaths or disappearances were the result of racially-motivated crimes.” Basically, the law states that the agencies will regularly keep families informed about the status of investigations and make information regarding the case available to he public. This bill was originally introduced by Alvin Sykes in 2005, who promised Mammie Till, Emmett's mother, that he would pursue her son's case after the two men were acquitted for his murder. Hence why it is named after him. Unfortunately, those men can't be brought to justice because of double jeopardy. Though Carolyn Dunham can definitely can be convicted and brought to justice so the relatives of the Till family can have some justice. Carolyn got the chance to live her life. Emmett Till never got the chance to live his.

Information from this post comes from:


http://www.ebony.com/news-views/emmett-till-false-claims#axzz4Xnf5Z4nQ
http://www.ebony.com/news-views/obama-emmett-till-bill#axzz4XndxyDvk
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till

The Worlds of Islam

During the Classical Era (sometimes called the post-Classical) which took place from 500 AD to 1500 AD, Islam was spreading and being worshipped by people all over the world. Arabs, Persians and Turks were major carriers of Islam during this period. Places that are considered to be part of the Classical Era have seminal thinkers, cosmopolitan areas, and  an empire. Islam straddled more than one continent- specifically on Europe, Africa, and Asia, the only major continents of the time. Islam had converted people who had a different faith at first and became the main religion of previous civilizations. In West Africa and Spain, there were thriving cosmopolitan centers. In West Africa, Timbuktu was the Islamic epicenter of the region. This city had over 150 level Quarnic schools and several major centers of higher education with thousands of students from all over West Africa. Timbuktu also had libraries that held tens of thousands of books and manuscripts. What Spain unique was that the people who lived there who had either a Jewish, Islam, and Christian background and relationships between them were good without any conflict for a short period of time. They all made brilliant contributions in astronomy, medicine, the arts, architecture, and literature flourished.This changed under the rule of al-Mansur in 981. At this period, the only group being persecuted in this region were Christians. As Islam trekked into India, it was being resisted by people who had a strong Hindu faith - the main faith of the previous civilization. Muslims aggressively attacked both the Hindus and Buddhists by smashing their temples, then carried off mass quantities of Indian treasure. Hundreds of years later, people the more egalitarian Islam attractive by dis-illusioned Buddhists and low-caste Hindus. Also people who converted to Islam in India benefitted by being free of taxes imposed on non-Muslims.

Classical China Renaissance

The Renaissance Era in China was just as significant as the one in Europe. The third wave civilization of China had many innovations ranging from agriculture, politics, manufacturing and education which started with the Sui Dynasty between the years 589-618. The emperors created a major extension of the nation’s canal system and stretched about 1200 miles. It was described by one scholar as “an engineering feat without parallel in the world of its time” in the textbook. This system was crucial because it connected the north and south part of the country. After the collapse of the Sui Dynasty the Tang took over between 618-907 and the Song during 960 and 1279.

This time was referred to the “golden age” of arts and literature setting standards of excellence in poetry, landscape painting, and ceramics, while setting standards in poetry, landscape painting and ceramics. And the revival of Confucianism took place which incorporated some insights of Buddhism and Daoism. Both dynasties also made changes to their government that was maintained for a thousand years. The Censorate was an agency that looked over the rest of the government by checking the character and competence of public officials and six major ministries: personnel, finance, rites, army, justice, and public works. The printing press was also invented, which helped the ability to print books for the first time in world history. Classical China began to choosing officials based on merit rather than picking sons of established aristocratic families.

The Song dynasty was referred as “by far the richest, most skilled, and populous country on earth” due to its economic revolution. One major aspect of China’s prosperity was its rapid population growth. By 1200, its population doubled from 50 million to 120 million as the people adopted a fast-ripening and drought-resistant strain of rice from Vietnam. Hangzhou, which was the capital at the time had  specialized markets for meat, herbs, vegetables, books, rice, and more while actors entertained shoppers. Also clubs were available for poets, fisherman, Buddhists, physical fitness enthusiast, horse lovers and other interests. Even famous Italian explorer Marco Polo raved that the capital as "beyond dispute the finest and noblest [city] in the world." One of the major reasons why major cities in China experienced such population growth was because they had an immense network of internal waterways: canals, rivers and lakes. It allowed China to have cheap transportation and tied the country together economically.  At the same time, industrial production skyrocketed between large-scale enterprises and small family-owned businesses.

The iron industry especially increased its output dramatically and starting in the 11th century, it was providing the government with 32,000 suits of armor and 16 million iron arrowheads annually along with metal for coins, tools, construction and bells in Buddhist monasteries.  By the year 1000, inventions in printing made books very cheap and available to everyone and people could learn more about religion, agriculture, medical, and math topics. Additionally, the Chinese were leading the world in navigational and shipbuilding technologies. They were also a commercialized society- producing for the world market rather than just the locals. As they were using paper money more and more, financial instruments such as letters of credit and promissory notes contributed to the commercialization of this civilization. Overall, China set many precedents for the rest of the world and highly influenced other nations in the process. From the idea that people should be given things based on merit rather than lineage was crucial. Also, being able to produce books on all sorts of subjects allowed people all over China to gain knowledge through reading. Also it's economy was booming because all its new innovations making it one of the best in the world. China's Classical Era was just as important if not more important than the one in Europe.